Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Google is able to personalize search results whether or not you have a Google
account. If you are signed in to Google, the search engine examines your Web history
to personalize the search results. This information is held indefinitely, unless you delete
your Web history. If you are not signed in, Google creates a cookie linked to your
computer's browser, and it stores records of all queries associated with that cookie, as
well as results that have been clicked, for up to 180 days [49].
COLLABORATIVE FILTERING
Collaborative filtering
algorithms draw upon information about the preferences of a
large number of people to predict what an individual may enjoy. An organization per-
forming collaborative filtering may determine people's preferences explicitly, through
rankings, or implicitly, by tracking their purchases. The filtering algorithm looks for pat-
terns in the data. Perhaps many people who purchase peanut butter also purchase jam.
If a new customer buys a jar of peanut butter, the software may instruct the register to
print out a discount coupon for a particular brand of jam along with the sales receipt.
Collaborative filtering software is also used by online retailers and movie sites to make
recommendations [50].
We have just examined a few ways in which a company that collects information about its
customers' activities can use this information to provide its customers with a more per-
sonalized service. It only makes sense that if several companies pooled the information
they had on the same person, they could construct a more complete electronic profile
that would lead to new insights into products or services that person might wish to pur-
chase. Do companies have the right to buy and sell information about their customers'
transactions, or should the person buying a product or service have the right to control
the information about that transaction?
Consider the following hypothetical example. Dr. Knowitall, a computer science
professor, takes his broken computer to the Computer Shop so that 18-year-old Andy
can fix it for him. Dr. Knowitall is embarrassed that he can't fix the computer himself,
and he doesn't want anybody to find out that he must pay someone to fix it. Dr. Know-
itall certainly isn't going to tell anyone, but does he have the right to prevent Andy from
telling anyone? Or maybe Andy wants to keep the transaction a secret, because he's em-
barrassed it took him so long to fix the computer and he doesn't want anyone to find out
he was in over his head. Does Andy have the right to keep Dr. Knowitall from talking
about it?
It seems that neither person can claim the right to control information about this
transaction. Since information about the transaction becomes public information if
either party discloses it, keeping the transaction private is more difficult (hence more
valuable) than making it public.
If Dr. Knowitall wants to keep the transaction private, he should be willing to pay
for it. He may tell Andy, “I'll give you an extra 20 bucks if you promise you won't tell
anybody that you fixed my computer.” At this point, Dr. Knowitall has purchased control
over the information about this transaction. Andy is obliged to keep his mouth shut,
